It’s a Taiwanese concept that is already popular in the US and elsewhere in Europe, and now bubble tea is gaining momentum in the UK – with seven new openings last year.
Bubble tea sounds fun. Is it?
It may look like something out of Willy Wonka’s ideas room, but bubble tea is big business: in its native Taiwan it is as ubiquitous as Starbucks and it has been a huge hit in both Germany and the US, with the global market expected to top $3bn within the next five years.
So it’s like fizzy tea, right?
It’s really not. Bubble tea takes its name from the tapioca balls – “boba” – that float about in either a milk- or fruit-based drink, which can be served hot or cold, usually through an oversized straw. It’s effectively part drink and part snack.
Sounds like an acquired taste. Is the UK acquiring it?
Although it was a 1980s invention it did not make its UK debut until 2011, with the launch of the first Bubbleology outlet in London, but all the signs are that it is making up for lost time. EG figures show there has been a dramatic increase in bubble tea occupiers in recent years and the drink is becoming well established beyond the capital, with recent openings in Portsmouth, Lancaster and Newport.
Is it clutching at (oversized, presumably) straws to think this unusual drink could provide a small beacon of hope for our beleaguered high streets?
No, but for the time being it seems there is one essential ingredient required for a high street to attract a successful bubble tea shop: proximity to Chinese students. They seem to form the core customer base for most bubble tea shops.
Isn’t that a bit of a niche audience?
It depends how you define niche. The UK has just shy of 100,000 Chinese students, making them by far the biggest overseas group within UK higher education. And the good news for bubble tea is that universities are trying to attract more of them to make up for the possible impact Brexit will have on student recruitment.
So this trend really isn’t a bubble?
Certainly not. And with vendors reporting increasing interest from native UK consumers eager to try something new – and dry January should lend it a helping hand – it feels like the future looks as bright as a cup of watermelon with tutti frutti jelly and strawberry popping balls (which is pretty bright).
The occupier
Mooboo is a franchised chain of bubble tea shops. It has 13 outlets in the UK and opened its York store in April.
Ryanna Coleman of Mooboo York explains: “We chose York because both the universities here are set up to get investment from China and already there is a sizeable population of Chinese students.
“Our customers are mostly students – particularly Chinese students, as bubble tea was originally from Taiwan – but we are certainly seeing more and more demand from what you would call traditional English customers. For example, we have a group of schoolchildren who come in at the same time every week to get their regular fix, so it’s becoming a part of people’s routines.
“The whole experience with it is just really fun, and I think that once more people become aware of what bubble tea is it will cross over into the mainstream and the potential for it is enormous.
“Business is going well but we tend see less demand in the winter months. We do sell hot drinks but bubble tea tends to be seen as something refreshing for a hot day, whereas when it’s cold most people just want a Starbucks.”
The agent
Blacks Property Consultants let 21-23 Walmgate in York to Mooboo on behalf of landlord Mawsons Court.
Andrew Hedley of Blacks Property Consultants says: “York has a huge student population and a few minutes’ walk from Mooboo is some really good-quality newly built student accommodation which is what Chinese students are looking for, so they will wander into town and have a bubble tea and a stroll around.
“Bubble tea wasn’t a new concept to me as there was a shop selling it in York a few years ago but it didn’t last – I expect it was probably a little ahead of its time. But I walked past Mooboo this morning and all the windows were steamed up which is always a good sign that things are busy. Since it opened, a bubble tea kiosk has appeared in the Coppergate Centre and a Chinese supermarket has opened opposite Mooboo, so it seems to be driving business.”
